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Totem pole-style sculpture designed by students adorns downtown Gretna

New sculpture at Gretna playground

Councilman at large Wayne Rau, left to right, Gretna No. 2 Academy Principal Patricia Wilty, local artist and teacher Kim Pourciau and Mayor Belinda C. Constant were at the installation of the sculpture at Heritage Playground made by students from the school. The project for the public art piece was directed by Pourciau and designed to honor the City of Gretna and its centennial.

Students from Gretna No 2 Academy have created a sculpture to honor and celebrate the City of Gretna's history and centennial year.

The project was possible because of a grant from the Brown Foundation. Local artist and art teacher Kim Pourciau worked with fourth- and fifth-graders to produce this colorful piece of public art.

City of Gretna Public Works Dept. personnel, on truck, left to right, Carl Jones, James Shelton, and on ground, left to right, Parker Chappel, Karl Caldwell and Felix Roche team with local artist and teacher Kim Pourciau to install a sculpture at Heritage Playground. The art piece was created by students from Gretna No. 2 Academy, designed to honor the City of Gretna and its centennial.

"The students researched Gretna and made sketches of what they felt would represent the city well. The students' drawings were then enlarged and recreated in colorful mosaic designs. Those designs were set into concrete molds. The shaped concrete blocks stack on top of one another to form a fun totem pole-style sculpture.''

It adorns the new Heritage Playground and almost-completed visitors center area on Huey P. Long Avenue, Pourciau said.

"The 12 students who worked on the sculpture learned a lot about public art, why it's important and how it enhances a community. They also learned about sculpture and what it takes to plan, design and implement a large scale piece of art such as this," she said.

Under direction from Pourciau, Public Works Department personnel installed the piece of art. Mayor Belinda C. Constant, Councilman-at-large Wayne Rau and Gretna No. 2 Principal Pat Wilty were there to enjoy the new addition to the playground.

Library programs

The Gardenia Youth Gardening Program, a monthly gardening event for teens and tweens, will be held at the Gretna Library, 102 Willow Drive July 9 at 4 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.

The purpose of the new club is to encourage youth development and life skills training through gardening and learning about the food system. Group members will learn about food, gardening, entrepreneurship and health through hands-on experiences. For more information regarding this program, contact Chris Smith, manager of adult programming for the library at 504.889.8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.

BodyWorks training is also being offered free at the Gretna Library, 103 Willow Drive every Saturday through July 26 from 10 a.m. until noon. The classes are for parents/caregivers of school age children. The program is sponsored by Sisters Outreach Inc. Contact Gwen Cook at 504.366.4247 or gwen2cook@yahoo.com for details.

Senior fun day

Senior citizens who attended Senior Fun Day held at Belle Vue Park as a part of Gretna City Park month said they had a great time. First place and second place winners, respectively, in the Corn Hole Contest were Erlene Lodriguss and Catherine Breaux. Councilman Milton Crosby and Chris Ziifle won first and second place, respectively in Croquet and Horseshoes. The event was sponsored by Gretna Community Association and the city.

The association sponsors the annual Prayer Dinner and produces the Gretna City Guide, a printed and online publication updated every five years that lists all schools, churches and organizations located in the city. The guide is a tool used by locals as well as potential new residents and businesses that want to locate here.

A committee chaired by Val Coles that includes Susan Breaux, Linda Laborde, Toni Hollis, Jackie Majeste and Helen Williams are in process of updating the guide at this time. For more information about the guide listings or to purchase advertising in the guide contact Coles at 504.432.7618.

Today's Tidbit

Just so residents can keep up with the constant development in Gretna and know what to call things, read on. The area at the foot of Huey P. Long Avenue is called Heritage Square which includes Heritage Playground. Also upon the square sits Heritage House and Serenity Garden which will become the new visitors' center.